Rose was born three months after the death of his father, who had had a son, James, by his previous marriage. On the death of her brother in 1782 his mother became head of the Kilravock branch of the family, but her right of succession to the estate, which was ‘clogged with encumbrances’, was challenged in the courts by her stepson’s guardian. The dispute was settled in her favour by decision of the House of Lords in 1787 and she wrote to a friend:
I have ... fought for this old Highland castle, in which I now remain the solitary descendant of a long line of ancestors, devoting my time and powers to preserve, if possible, a remnant of their ample possessions for their infant representative; and, in the meantime, I will endeavour to give him such an education as may form him to be independent of my struggle, should it prove ultimately unsuccessful.
Fam. of Kilravock (Spalding Club, 1848), 503-17; LJ, xxxvii. 584, 588, 645.
Hugh Rose may have been the man of that name who was informed by the 2nd Lord Melville in September 1812 that he had no chance of securing the baronetcy which he coveted.